REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Curcumin Mediates Oxidative Stress to Play an Anti-fibrotic Role, Focusing on Liver, Renal, Myocardial and Pulmonary Fibrosis
Provisionally accepted
Shishuang Yu1
Jufang Pu1
Ke Liu1
HeCuifang Cuifang He1Feifei Yang1Ke Chen1Xiuli Yang1
Yi Zhu1
Maocai Luo1
XIAO LIU1,2*
Chuantao Zhang1*
Yujiao He1*- 1Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 2Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
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Background: Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound that originates from turmeric (Curcuma longa L., Linnaeus, Zingiberaceae), a traditional medicinal herb. It is widely recognized for its strong antioxidant properties. Objective: This comprehensive review aims to delineate the recent progress in comprehending the role of curcumin in modulating oxidative stress and exerting an anti-fibrotic effect, with a particular focus on liver, renal, myocardial, and pulmonary fibrosis. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted via the PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, covering 2000 until 2024. A systematic review identified studies examining curcumin's regulation of oxidative stress pathways in therapeutic strategies for multiple fibrotic disorders, which were analyzed to synthesize current evidence. Results: In recent years, the application of curcumin for the clinical management of fibrotic diseases in a variety of clinical applications has been extensively investigated. Accumulating evidence suggests that curcumin can exert antifibrotic effects by ameliorating oxidative stress through the modulation of various signaling pathways such as regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS), nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (NRF2), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). In this review, we investigate the pharmacokinetics of curcumin, the relationship between oxidative stress and the pathogenesis of fibrosis, and summarize the related studies of curcumin in the treatment of fibrotic diseases by regulating oxidative stress. Conclusions: This comprehensive review elucidates curcumin's antifibrotic potential and explores its translational applications in developing novel therapeutic strategies to combat fibrotic pathologies, supported by mechanistic evidence that informs safer, more effective treatment paradigms.
Keywords: Reactive Oxygen Species, Reactive Nitrogen Species, Curcuma, Anti-fibrosis effects, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Signaling Pathways
Received: 28 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yu, Pu, Liu, He, Yang, Chen, Yang, Zhu, Luo, LIU, Zhang and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
XIAO LIU, lxzl111@yeah.net
Chuantao Zhang, zhangchuantao@cdutcm.edu.cn
Yujiao He, heyujiao@cdu.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.